Typhoon Koppu kills 22 people in Philippines
At least 22 people have been killed and tens of thousands of others forced out of their homes since Typhoon Koppu battered the Philippines.
The victims of the storm lost their lives in floods, landslides and boat accidents, as well as by flying debris, authorities said Tuesday.
The government has deployed thousands of troops to assist residents trapped on rooftops in flooded areas.
Some of the country’s most important rice and corn farming regions have been hit by severe flooding, with water levels as high as rooftops, north of the capital, Manila.
Military vehicles and boats were being prevented by heavy floods from reaching many of the worst-hit villages.
More of the same expected
The state weather agency of the Philippines has warned that despite losing steam, Koppu is expected to keep dumping rain on the country for at least the next several days.
The slow-moving storm made landfall on the main island of Luzon on Sunday morning, packing winds of up to 200 kilometers per hour and cutting power to vast areas. According to the state weather service on Monday, the wind speeds of the storm were down to 150 kilometers per hour.
The storm is now on its way to Taiwan in the South China Sea.
Typhoon Koppu is the second most powerful storm to make landfall in the Philippines this year.
Super Typhoon Haiyan, which hit the Philippines in November 2013, has so far been the deadliest and strongest as it demolished entire towns in the central islands. More than 7,350 people were left dead or missing due to the storm.
The Philippines gets hit by an average of about 20 major storms a year, many of them deadly. When storms emerge over the Pacific Ocean, they usually hit the islands of the Southeast Asian archipelago.
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